


Stay with Me until the Moon Rejoins the Sea

by neonstardust



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Background TsukiHina - Freeform, Bakunawa - Freeform, Bakunawa Kunimi Akira, Blood and Violence, Don't Let The Tags Fool You This Is Safe For Work, Dragons, Fake Astronomy Mythology, Filipino Mythology - Freeform, HQ Monster Lovin Weekend, HQ Monster Lovin Weekend 2020, Happy Ending, Human/Monster Romance, Is This Platonic? Is This Romantic? The Answer Is Yes, Minor Injuries, Monastic Yachi Hitoka, Moon Prince Tsukishima Kei, Non humanoid, There Is Only One Violent Scene And Instructions On How To Skip The Scene Are Included In The Notes, Yachi Hitoka's Guide To Taking Care Of Your Newly Adopted Moon-Eating Snake Friend, Yachi Hitoka-centric, no one dies, non-humanoid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:55:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26836294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neonstardust/pseuds/neonstardust
Summary: Yachi’s mother taught her to speak and walk. In the palace, she learned to share. At the temple, she learned to work hard and enjoy the simplicity of life.No one taught her what to do when the world ends.In which, Yachi teaches the destroyer of worlds how to appreciate the little things that make life worth living.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Tsukishima Kei, Kunimi Akira & Yachi Hitoka, Kunimi Akira/Yachi Hitoka
Comments: 7
Kudos: 25
Collections: An Asexual's Guide to Monster Lovin Weekend: Because Maybe Hot Monsters want to be Called Beautiful Monsters Just One Time





	Stay with Me until the Moon Rejoins the Sea

**Author's Note:**

> HQ Monster Lovin’ Weekend - Prompt: Non-Humanoid
> 
> Warning: There is one slightly violent scene. Injuries are described in enough detail that some readers may be uncomfortable. 
> 
> The scene is located near the end of the story and can be skipped by stopping at the first bold section of text and resuming at the second bold section.
> 
> More details, which contain spoilers, are included in the end notes in case anyone would like to know what happens in the violent scene without any grim details.

The siren blares. Screaming fills the city streets. The crowd pushes and shoves against her, but Yachi keeps her gaze on the sky, heart sinking. “No.”

Overhead, two moons glitter among a sea of stars, but as she watches, one of them darkens and wobbles. A serpentine shape coils around it, blotting out the cosmos.

“Make it stop!”

“Kill it,” someone roars.

Shouts ring out all around her, but it’s no use. Massive jaws snap into the moon.

The ground shakes. Yachi stumbles. In the distance, the watchman yells, “Incoming!”

Waves flood their shores. Cold sinks into her skin. Yachi grabs desperately at a nearby sign to keep herself upright. Churning with dirt and debris, water splashes against her on all sides.

“Yachi-san!” Small hands grab hold of hers, and then a larger pair settle on her shoulders. “We gotta evacuate,” Hinata says.

Kageyama helps her stand upright. Together, they form a wall between her and the stampeding crowd.

“Tsukishima-kun,” she gasps. “Is he okay?”

Tears fill his eyes, but Hinata nods. “It’s not him.”

She’s relieved, but it does nothing to ease the cold dread flooding her chest. Looking up at the sky, she watches as the beast rips the moon from its place. The light shines brightly, and then teeth close around it, swallowing the moon whole.

Another wave crashes into them. Kageyama and Hinata pull her uphill, but her gaze stays on the monster—the bakunawa. The beast who has eaten six of their moons.

People clamor around the overflowing shelter. Kageyama pulls them to a spot off to the side, just shy of the tides ever extending reach. There, the despair finally catches up to her, and she falls to her knees, hugging herself against the cold. Silently, Kageyama wraps an arm around her shoulders.

Hinata glares at the sky. “We’ll stop it,” he vows. “It won’t kill Kei.”

Yachi rubs her eyes. She hadn’t realized she was crying, but now the tears come faster, blurring everything until she’s hunched over, biting back a sob. Six moons. Six princes dead. Six islands full of innocent people sunk as the tides reclaimed them.

They’re next. She closes her eyes, sniffling. It will return tomorrow and devour their moon. Without it, Tsukishima will die. The island will sink with everyone on it. There’s no hope left.

Her imagination always tended to get ahead of her in times like these, but looking around at the desolate villagers, she knows it’s true. She can see it in their haunted eyes and trembling hands, can hear it in their whispered prayers. They’ve given up.

Hinata leans against her, his teeth chattering. “Don’t mind them,” he stutters. His lips are practically blue with cold, but his smile burns warm and bright when he says, “We’ll save the moon. Just you watch.”

Kageyama nods. “Tomorrow, we kill the bakunawa.”

Yachi takes each of their hands in one of her own. She wants to believe them.

Waves crash against the horizon as the bakunawa dives back into the sea. She feels her hope sinking along with it. What chance do they stand against an immortal dragon? Squeezing their hands, she prays this won’t be their final goodbye.

* * *

The temple is empty. The monastics have all left, and no worshipers have come, not even for tea. The bell tower stands isolated, abandoned.

Sitting on the shore, Yachi lets the silence envelop her. She’s never been alone here before. It should be scary, but knowing their world will end as soon as the sun sets, she can’t muster up the energy to be afraid.

Birds swim out on the calm ocean waves, and she pretends they’re boats, bobbing farther and farther away, carrying the villagers to safety. Maybe she should have boarded the evacuation boats when she had the chance. Maybe it won’t matter anyway—not when the ocean will turn into a tempestuous graveyard the moment the last moon is devoured.

Stretching out on the bank, she lets the sand warm her back. Her mother never taught her what she should do on the last day on earth. She slept in—a feat she hasn’t done since she began living in the temple so long ago. She skipped her chores and cooked herself her favorite meal. She said her farewells to the few villagers who passed by, and then she built herself a sandcastle. She built it tall and beautiful, with tiny moats and balconies and stained windows made from sea glass, and she positioned it so close to the incoming tide that it will only take one big wave to wipe it off the face of the earth, just like how the bakunawa will destroy her temple, her home, her life.

The sun dips threateningly low to the horizon. Humming, Yachi turns onto her side, running her fingers through the sand. She thinks she should be crying, maybe screaming, but everything is so still and peaceful. She could fall asleep like this.

The waves stir, crashing higher against the bank. Her sandcastle washes back into the nothingness. Overhead, she watches the sun dye the clouds red, orange, pink. Their colors bleed away. It feels like hours or only seconds have passed when the sky finally darkens into night. Sitting up, she looks at the moon for the last time.

The bakunawa doesn’t appear right away. There’s no way to track time with the sun already set, so she sings, letting the notes count out the moments for her.

As the time draws closer, her worries grow louder. She hopes Tsukishima is okay. The other princes were his cousins; she can’t imagine the grief he must feel. Even if their island isn’t destroyed and the world doesn’t end, Tsukishima’s lifeforce is still bound to the moon. If it disappears, so will he.

Hinata will take it hardest of all. She wishes she could be with them, but she knows he’s probably with Kageyama, guarding Tsukishima and the castle from an unstoppable attack that’s not even aimed at them. Her mother will be there, too, of course, probably leading the defense strategy.

She can think of others who might be there, but it only makes her heart ache more. Staring up at the moon, she stops singing. She really will die all alone.

The water ripples. “Keep singing,” a strange voice requests.

Yachi bolts upright. She can’t see anyone around. Where—

Something splashes. “I’m tired.” The voice is deep and sleepy, echoing through the empty air. “Your people make so much noise; I can’t rest.”

Her heart pounds. The shore stretches downhill to a long pier. “Who’s there?” she asks.

The water churns. The pier shifts. A shadow rises and separates from it, growing larger, until something easily four times the size of the pier towers before her.

Yachi stumbles back.

The beast blinks at her lazily. Monstrous fins stir the water. “Call me what you like,” he says.

She clasps her hands over her mouth to hold back a scream. Slowly, she tries to back away, but her feet slip in the sand. She hits the bank hard.

“Bakunawa,” he says. “Is that not the name you use?”

Two long whiskers drape from his muzzle. Yachi’s gaze trails past them, over rows of curled, pointing fangs. Two wavy horns rest on top of his head, nearly hidden by his fins, and a third, smaller horn tips off his nose.

Yachi covers her eyes. “Please don’t kill me!”

She waits for the feel of needle-sharp teeth, but nothing happens. Peeking through her fingers, she finds the bakunawa waiting, watching her with deep brown eyes.

Tentatively, she lowers her hands. “Are...” Her voice quavers. “Are you going to eat the moon?”

“Yes,” he says without hesitation. He turns his massive head to look at it, his neck stretching like a snake.

Yachi looks up at it, too, crawling forward onto her knees. Her chest aches. The sky looks so much emptier now with only a single moon hovering in the sky. She can’t imagine losing this one, too.

“Why?” she asks. “We need it. It gives us light and controls the waves and—” She bites her lip. Her hands shake. “Please.” Fear threatens to overtake her, but she swallows hard, lifting her head. “Please, you can’t take it from us! It’s the only one we have left.”

The dragon looks at her. Squeaking, she covers her mouth. Now she’s done it. She back-talked an immortal entity—a fifty-meter-long man-eating entity with teeth longer than she is tall. She might faint.

No, she can’t give up now. Tsukishima’s life depends on this! Kageyama and Hinata are working tirelessly right now to keep him safe. The least she can do is be awake when the bakunawa strikes.

He doesn’t move though. He’s staring at the moon again. Yachi can’t be sure, but looking up at him, she almost thinks he looks soft around the edges. Serene. Happy.

Standing up, she risks a step closer. “Do they taste like cheese?”

He snorts. “No.” Waves crash against the shore as he curves his long body around, coiling his tail over his front claws. “It tastes like nothing.”

“Then why?” she asks.

“It’s beautiful.” Something wistful slips into his voice.

The shaking has spread from her hands to her whole body, even her lips trembling, but she takes another step closer to him. “Don’t eat it then. I-if you eat it, it won’t be beautiful anymore.”

“Wrong. It will immortalize its beauty, and its memory will live on inside of me.” He regards Yachi coolly. “It’s not personal. I don’t care about your kind one way or another, but I can’t leave something I want unguarded.”

“Immortalize,” she whispers. Her head spins. All of this is starting to feel like a dream, or maybe the blood has all rushed to her brain. She can barely see straight. Staggering another step forward, she cranes her head back to look up at him.

The bakunawa takes mercy on her. One second, he’s so big she can barely comprehend it, and the next, he’s shrinking, smaller and smaller. In the blink of an eye, he’s no bigger than a standard house. “Sing for me,” he says, “and I will not eat the moon tonight.”

She doesn’t get it. Such a ferocious creature could wipe out their entire island with one sweep of his tail and end all of the noise, but here he is, asking her to sing him to sleep instead. She sinks to her knees. Why? Her head hurts.

The bakunawa shrinks down further. His scales shimmer like the night sky itself, but turquoise glistens at his chest, dipping down along his belly like the scales of a carp. Talons scrape the ground as he steps out of the water, curling up on a large rock beyond the tide’s reach.

If she does this, he’ll just destroy the moon tomorrow. It’s a fruitless deal. Still, it’s a chance. She can’t afford to waste this.

Heart heavy with fear and hope and all of the lines that fit in between, Yachi sings.

* * *

Tension stifles the air. The bakunawa dwarfs Tsukishima by several feet, but Tsukishima stands with his back straight, leering down his nose at him. “This is the almighty moon eater?” he scoffs. Fear has drained the blood from his face, but he still manages to look disgusted with the revelation. “Pathetic.”

Yachi gulps. At Tsukishima’s side, Hinata and Yamaguchi stiffen. “Stop it, Kei,” Hinata hisses.

Unconcerned, the bakunawa examines Tsukishima. Leaning closer, he sniffs his hair before shaking his head. “This human is nothing special,” he decides.

If possible, Hinata and Yamaguchi tense up even more, anger contorting their faces. Leaning against the wall, Kageyama only nods his agreement.

“But,” Yachi says, her voice weak yet pitched with nerves. “But you only just met him. He’s more special than this deep down, I promise. You can’t kill him without seeing what he is capable of.”

“I don’t care what he’s capable of.” Dismissing Tsukishima with a flick of his tail, the bakunawa turns to Hinata, and he jumps. The bakunawa makes a considering sound in his throat, like a cross between a hiss and a hum. He prods Hinata with the tip of his tail.

Clenching his fist, Hinata holds his gaze without blinking.

“This one’s interesting,” the bakunawa decides, “but not worth the effort.”

“Hey!” Hinata glares.

“I have no time for shrimp,” the bakunawa says. He circles around them, looking over Yamaguchi with disinterest, and Yamaguchi wavers like he might faint. Straightening up, the bakunawa says, “I will not trade the moon for any of them.”

“But...” Yachi doesn’t know what to say. She had hoped, prayed, that if the dragon saw Tsukishima and acknowledged him as a person worthy of living, they might be able to convince him to leave peacefully. Now, they have nothing. She failed.

“It’s not yours to trade,” Kageyama snaps.

The hum rattles through the bakunawa’s throat again. He snakes closer. Legs trembling, Yachi hides behind Kageyama. He isn’t looking at her, though. His gaze burns into Kageyama. Thoughtfully, he lifts one of his claws below Kageyama’s chin, forcing him to raise his head.

Yachi holds her breath. Hinata moves to step forward, but Yamaguchi holds him back.

Kageyama glares, defiant.

Seconds tick out agonizingly long. Yachi fears her heart will beat out of her chest at this rate, but then the bakunawa draws back, a pleased look on his face. “I like this one,” he decides.

“Why—”

Yamaguchi clamps a hand over Tsukishima’s mouth. “Then you won’t eat the moon?” he asks.

“I will,” the bakunawa says suddenly. Turning to Yachi and Kageyama, he adds, “I will take these two as well.”

“What?” Hinata dives between them. “No!”

“You can’t,” Yamaguchi shouts.

Pushing Hinata out of his way, Kageyama steps forward. “I’m not being eaten by a lizard,” he says, “and I’ll roast you alive before you even think of touching Yachi-san.”

“Please. There must be something else we can give you,” Yachi says, but the words sound ridiculous even to her. This is the moon they’re talking about. If not even a prince bound to the moon by blood and a ritual older than time itself is a sufficient trade, what else can they hope to offer?

“Don’t waste your breath,” Tsukishima says. “Reptiles have no emotions. It doesn’t care about the lives of some humans.” Stepping forward to join them, he continues, “A wretched creature like this has never been told ‘no’ before. It won’t stop because you ask nicely or ‘will’ it into existence. Our only choice”—he glares up at the bakunawa—“is to kill it.”

Yachi clutches her chest. “Kill?”

That’s not possible. She can feel it deep in her heart long before the bakunawa says, “No man can slay me.” Impenetrable scales coat him like armor from head to tail. Vicious claws tip off each his four feet, and his teeth, serrated and venomous, glint menacingly. By very nature he’s designed to be unkillable.

In an act of kindness, he says, “I will make your deaths painless.”

Drawing his sword, Kageyama stabs him. The blade glances harmlessly off midnight blue scales.

The bakunawa watches, unamused. “I will make this one’s death a little painful.”

Rage coloring his face, Kageyama slashes again. The sword strikes him harder this time. The blade snaps in half. Ruined metal clangs to the ground.

Kageyama hisses through his teeth. Blood drips down his fingers, soaking the hilt.

“Damn.” Hinata looks at his own weapon, gritting his teeth.

Yamaguchi bites his lip. “What do we do?” Tearing his sleeve, he binds the fabric gently around Kageyama’s hand.

Tsukishima shrugs and says, “Give up.”

“No,” Yachi whispers. “No.” Voice rising, she says, “It’s not true. There is something. We just have to find it.”

“Yachi-san’s right,” Hinata says.

Yawning, the bakunawa asks, “Will this take much longer? I’m bored.”

“Bored,” she repeats. How can he find their struggle to live boring? Tsukishima’s earlier words ring through her head. Reptiles have no emotions. He has no empathy, no compassion.

No. That can’t be right either. Doesn’t boredom count as an emotion? Before, he showed kindness when he offered to make the end painless, and it was annoyance that flared when Kageyama stabbed him. He can feel. She’s sure of it. The way he looked at the moon... There was love in his gaze. This is not the way an apathetic creature behaves.

“Let us show you,” Yachi says. Her mouth moves faster than her brain, the words stumbling over each other, but she doesn’t let herself stop to think—to overthink—to let the fear sink in. “Sunsets and tea; warm baths and soft beds. Friendship, love, family, puppies, fresh fruit.” Closing her eyes, she rasps in a breath and says, “Laughter, home cooked meals, the first snowflake of winter, baby ducklings in spring.”

“Yachi-san, don’t hurt yourself,” Yamaguchi warns.

“Hugs and weddings and newborn babies. Smelling flowers and holding hands.” Taking a deep breath, she shouts, “There are things worth living for. Things you can’t eat!”

“I have no desire to eat those,” he states.

“That’s not the point,” she says. “You want to eat the moon because it’s beautiful, but there are so many beautiful things here—things you’ve never seen before. If you eat the moon, all those things will be lost forever. You’ll be sabotaging yourself.”

“I don’t know what Yachi-san is saying,” Hinata cuts in, “but she’s right! If you eat the moon, then no one will have it, including you.”

Yachi nods. “You don’t destroy the things you love; you protect them.”

The bakunawa tilts his head. “Eating them is how I protect them. No one can take them from me this way.”

The answer floors her. Yachi opens her mouth then closes it, stunned.

She can remember years ago, before she joined the temple, she helped her mother with taxes and inventory. A harmful product had spread through the town, but it was still being purchased by the boatload. She hadn’t understood then—she still doesn’t—but her mom had taken her by the hand and said, “People want what they think will make them happy. Even if the product is dangerous, they will demand and consume until there is no supply.”

He wants to consume the moon to protect it.

To consume is to possess. She’s never seen the term used so literally before. However, it’s the sadness that swells in her throat, making it hard to get the words through. He doesn’t know how to love any other way than by taking. He would take something from everyone, even himself, because he knows no other way to show his love than through possession.

Her heart bleeds for him. Without thought, she slips past Hinata and throws her arms around his neck.

“Yachi-san,” Yamaguchi squeaks, petrified.

Kageyama’s jaw drops, his hands stretched out like he doesn’t know whether to pull her back or let her be.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles. “Your way of life... I can’t imagine how lonely that must be.”

The bakunawa doesn’t answer. He holds ramrod stiff, one claw raised. Then, he sighs, relaxing. His body shrinks further, and her arms slide around his neck more naturally.

Hinata holds his chin in his hand. “If he gets smaller, we can trap 'em in a jar.”

“He’d break the jar,” Tsukishima states flatly.

“Do you have a name?” Yachi asks. “A real name, I mean.” Bakunawa is just a label they slapped on him when he appeared as a curved snake in the sky, devouring the first moon in one bite. It’s as insulting and impersonal as when he calls them “human.”

“I do not,” he says. “Name me, if you want.”

“Stupid,” Hinata volunteers.

Kageyama raises his hand. “Dumbass.”

The bakunawa’s tail swings around, slapping them both in the shins. Wisely, Tsukishima keeps his mouth shut.

“Uh? Hebi?” Yamaguchi offers. Taking a step back, he says, “Please don’t hit me.”

“It is a reptile,” Tsukishima agrees, but Yachi shakes her head.

“He’s a dragon,” she says. “He’s more intelligent than an average reptile.” Drawing back, she says, “Akira.”

“Don’t give him a nice name,” Hinata whines. “He’s here to kill us!”

He is, but that’s exactly why Yachi thinks he needs a nice name. He needs kindness and acceptance if he’s going to give them a chance.

“A standard name then,” Yamaguchi musses.

“Tanaka,” Tsukishima says immediately.

Yachi can just imagine the face Tanaka would make if he were here now. “Vetoed,” she says.

“Does it matter?” Kageyama asks. “Just call it Kunimi or something.”

Hinata nods. “Then we will kill Kunimi Akira.”

“It doesn’t need two names,” Tsukishima protests, but Hinata isn’t listening, too busy holding up his sword to the bakunawa’s—no, to Kunimi’s muzzle.

Pushing the sword down carefully, Yachi shakes her head. “No, we’re going to teach Kunimi-kun how to appreciate beauty without consuming it.”

Tsukishima pinches the bridge of his nose. “First, you name it. Now it has an honorific?” Looking at Kunimi, his lip curls, and he says, “Why are you even going along with this?”

Kunimi blinks, stretching as if rousing himself from sleep. “I have no interest in your quarrels or names. Call me whatever and do what you want. I will take the moon,” he swears. “You have until I get bored...” His gaze slides over Kageyama. “Or hungry.”

Yamaguchi and Hinata move between him and Kageyama, swords raised.

With a deep breath, Yachi bows. “I’ll make sure you don’t get bored.”

Now, even Kageyama looks skeptical, sharing a glance with Tsukishima. She can’t blame them; Kunimi looks ready to fall asleep on his feet. It’s hard to believe this is the same dragon who needed a lullaby the night before, but it doesn’t matter how hard it might be to keep him awake and satisfied. They have something to place their faith in now. Hope has rekindled in their hearts, burning brightly. She won’t fail them. Their lives depend on it.

* * *

Yachi all but drops the plate in front of Kunimi. “Here you go,” she pants. Her back is killing her. Sweat dampens her hair, and she huffs, blowing her bangs out of her face.

Kunimi eats quickly. Despite his two rows of serrated teeth, he hardly chews, instead swallowing the noodles whole. Yachi can’t decide if she should want him to choke or not.

“Well,” she asks, “how is it?”

“Average.” He nudges a pepper to the side with his claw.

Yachi sighs. Spaghetti neapolitan failed, too. She’s losing track of how many dishes she’s served him. Originally, she thought meat would interest him the most, but he showed no more interest in the barbeque ribs than he did the arroz caldo or the spring rolls. He picked the broccoli out of the stir fry, and the beef stew went largely untouched. At this rate, she doesn’t know which she’ll run out of first: ingredients or ideas.

“There must be something you’ll like,” she insists. As a second thought, she adds, “My favorite food is dagashi. What's yours?”

Kunimi sets his head down on top of his coiled body. “I am not accustomed to human food.”

“Oh. Right.” She sits down in front of him. Humming, she says, “Dagashi is like candy, although I guess there are also pastries and chocolates.”

Kunimi says nothing. It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking, but his eyes are open, so she at least knows he’s awake. He doesn’t look interested, but he doesn’t look like he’s ignoring her either.

It makes a question rise to her mind. “How did you learn our language, Kunimi-kun?” she asks.

He flicks the tip of his tail as if the question is trivial. “Communication is founded in nature. It seeps into the ground and seas.” Looking out at the ocean, he says, “The water told me of this language, just as it told me of the language that came before this one.”

“Wow.” It reminds her just how magnificent a creature like Kunimi is. If he can speak to the tides, then in a way, it makes sense he would love their moons who guide the ocean each night. She wonders what other ancient mysteries he’s capable of.

“Tiresome,” he grumbles.

Yachi stiffens. “I’ll prepare more food,” she announces, jumping to her feet. Kunimi mumbles some kind of ascent, but she’s already racing through the main hall.

What is she going to do? She’s cooked practically every recipe they have already. Bypassing the kitchen, she throws open the pantry doors. Different color rice fills large canisters. She wanders past bags of flour, perplexed. Spices, fresh and dry, take up one entire row of shelves, but Kunimi has given her no hints regarding the flavors he likes.

She wonders if they have any dagashi. Kunimi hadn’t seemed all that enticed, but it never hurts to try—unless he kills her for it. Gulping, she scans through the shelves of pickled plums and dried seaweed. Their meals at the temple have always been so simple. They’re not set up for serving picky dragons.

Rounding the corner, she looks over shelves of dried noodles and bread starters. A jar of pickled eggs rests precariously close to the edge. Sugar and honey fill the space around it. Beneath, bottles of sanctified wine wait for their next religious ceremony—a tradition that will never come to pass if she can’t keep Kunimi happy.

Pushing aside a canister of beans, she finds a small box. Colorful wrappers inside catch her attention. They could be useful. Taking it off the shelf, she collects some bananas that were left to ripen and a bowl of spicy peppers.

This is going to work, she reminds herself. She still has polvorón baking in the oven along with some fish she can turn into a variety of dishes. Most of what she’s cooked so far has been savory. That means she just needs to think outside of the box—spicy, sweet, tangy, rich, anything. Not even the pickiest eater can hate everything, after all... she hopes.

In the kitchen, she quickly prepares various sushi rolls. A traveler once told her sauce and cheese could be spread on pita bread to make some kind of Italian meal, so she tries that, too, sticking it in the oven to bake.

Her feet throb. Small burns accumulate on her fingers and thumbs. Wincing against the pain, she spoons soup and spicy curry into bowls.

“I can do this,” Yachi says as she lays everything out on a serving tray. “I can do this.” The worst that can happen is he hates it. And then kills her. And then destroys the world. Her legs shake. Anxiously, she looks around the halls as she walks, just in case Kunimi has changed his mind about this whole thing and is waiting around the corner to kill her while she’s distracted.

Sunlight sparkles through the entryway, and she takes slow, shallow breaths.

Kunimi has migrated to the bell tower. As she approaches, he stretches up, sharpening his claws against the heavy stones like a cat. Sparks fly. In their wake, he leaves behind deep grooves in the tower.

Yachi lets out a petrified squeak.

Glancing at her, Kunimi straightens up. "I will eat the moon tonight. Go. Don't waste your time on me."

Fear fills her chest like cold waves rushing in from the sea. Swallowing hard, she shakes her head. "No. Please, I can think of more things." Stumbling forward, she holds out the tray. "You haven't tried everything yet," she insists.

"I don't need to." Kunimi turns away.

"Please." Her eyes sting and prickle. Blinking hard against the tears, she sinks to her knees, pushing the tray out for him.

She feels like she's standing on a wooden bridge, watching helplessly as the ropes suspending it are cut away. Any second now the world will be ripped out from beneath her, and she'll plunge into the cold water of oblivion. It's terrifying. She clutches her chest. At this rate, the suspense will kill her before Kunimi does.

"Tsukishima-kun can send professional chefs," she stutters. "I know my cooking isn't the best. If you could wait just a little longer..." A sob lodges in her throat, cutting off the words. "Please," she forces out.

Silence follows. It feels heavier than the normal, almost comfortable silence Kunimi lets settle between their conversations. Yachi bites her lip. He's not going to give them more time.

Scales scrape against the cobblestones. Yachi braces herself for the pain of being devoured.

Something touches the top of her head, gentle and featherlight. His breath ruffles her hair. Cracking open her eyes, she finds Kunimi resting his muzzle on her head.

He's smaller now than she's ever seen him before. At this size, his claws have disappeared, leaving his body serpentine. His spikes have lost their sharp edges. Only the two horns on his head remain, sharp and curved, while his fins look harmless and fishlike.

He draws away slowly. "Your cooking's fine," he says. As if to prove his point, he sniffs out the content on the tray. He licks the curry. His nose seems to twitch, and he pushes it away, moving on to the sushi, which he finishes off in quick bites. Some of the soup spilt. Unconcerned, Kunimi drinks what remains in the bowl.

"Is..." Her voice stops, tears still clogging up her throat. Rubbing her eyes, she tries again. "Is it good?"

Kunimi pushes the bowl aside, still half full. "Average," he says.

Yachi slumps her shoulders. Defeat overwhelms her, and beneath it, she feels something like anger churning uncomfortably in her stomach. It's not fair. He's an ancient, celestial being; how could anyone expect someone as pitiful as her to make a meal worthy of his palate.

Something crinkles. Kunimi bats at a wrapper with the tip of his tail. "What is this?"

"Oh." Yachi had forgotten about those. Picking it up, she unwraps it for him. "I apologize. We don't have dagashi, but I found these." She holds out a piece of salted caramel.

Kunimi sniffs it curiously. Fear slams into her like a train. What if he bites her hand off?

Before she can pull away, he opens his mouth, taking the candy between his teeth as delicately as if he were picking up an egg.

Trembling, Yachi pulls her hand to her chest. All five fingers remain. There's not a single cut or drop of blood on her.

Kunimi chews the caramel surprisingly slow. His tongue peaks out, traveling over his teeth. "It sticks," he says.

"Caramel does that. I can bring you milk," she offers.

He makes that rattling sound in his throat again, like a hum crossed with a hiss. It reminds her of a cat purring. Batting another candy with his tail, he looks at her expectantly.

"Um..." She looks from it to him. Silently, she unwraps the candy for him. Warm breath blows over her hand as he takes it from her fingers.

Nervously, she unwraps another one. Most of the time Kunimi pushes food away after the first or second bite. And that hum... He did it before, too, when he said he liked Kageyama. Does that mean he likes the caramel?

She's afraid to ask. He could say no. She could break whatever trance he seems to be in. No, she can't risk it.

Gingerly, Kunimi takes the third piece from her, and her gaze drops to the box, her heart beating faster. What if they run out? Already, she can see the wooden bottom of the container. The temple never used caramel much, so they only ever got it through donations. Even if he's smaller now, this won't be enough to satisfy a bakunawa.

Kunimi licks his teeth again. "Sticky."

Yachi stands. "I'll get milk."

Before he can answer, she bolts through the main hall, but this time, she turns right, away from the kitchen. Slipping through the familiar hallways, she makes it to the eastern wing, sneaking out through the side exit.

The sun is starting to move toward the horizon. A chill settles in her chest, pushing her to move faster. If they run out of caramel now, the consequences could be devastating.

Tsukishima had promised to send someone to check up on her before nightfall. She looks around frantically, searching around the gardens and bathhouses.

They want to keep Kunimi's arrival a secret, so Tsukishima will have sent someone who already knows about him. Hinata would be the best person to find. His speed is out of this world, which is exactly what she needs right now, but she doubts he will stray far from Tsukishima's side with his life still on the line. That leaves Kageyama and Yamaguchi.

Yachi worries her lip. Kageyama is faster, but...

Shaking her head, she hurries up the path. There's no one near the well. Off in the distance, cows graze on fields of grass well beyond the reach of the tides. She'll have to check on them tomorrow... if there is a tomorrow.

Distracted, Yachi doesn't see anyone until she crashes into a solid chest.

Kageyama catches her by the arms before she can fall. "Careful," he warns.

"Kageyama-kun, I have an emergency." Yachi grabs his hands. "We need caramel. The fate of the world depends on it!"

He blinks. Then, with a shrug, he says, "Yeah, sure. How much?"

"All of it," she says gravely. "Salted caramel, caramel cookies, caramel cake: anything you can find. Please have Tsukishima-kun send as much as possible."

"Understood." He moves to leave.

"And milk," she adds.

Kageyama tenses. His brow furrows, and his lips curl with annoyance. "It's destroying all the milk now, too?" he asks, voice scalding.

"I'm sorry!" She bows her head. "We don't have a choice. It's the milk or the world."

Kageyama glares at the temple, as if he can see straight through the walls to where Kunimi is waiting beyond. "Damned if I do, damned if I don't," he mutters.

Yachi doesn't quite think a few gallons of milk are equal to the entire planet, but saying that might upset him further. Tentatively, she squeezes his hand. "We can gather more milk," she reminds him.

Sighing, he nods, but his lips twist into a pout when he pulls his hand away. "Milk and caramel. This dumbass better be grateful."

"I'm grateful." Yachi smiles.

His face softens. "Okay."

Yachi watches him head back through the gates before she turns away, running for the cellar. She hopes she hasn't left Kunimi alone for too long. There's no telling what horrors he could unleash on the island while unsupervised.

The cellar lies uncomfortably close to the bank. Heaving open the heavy doors, Yachi stares down the dark flight of stairs. Before, this was a horrifying place to visit. Every fiber of her being screams that it must be haunted, and even if by some slim chance it's not hunted, the steps are slick and icy. Most of the monastics were forbidden from entering without someone else there in case one of them fell and broke a bone.

It feels trivial now compared to the man eating dragon lurking by their bell tower. Wiping the sweat from her face, Yachi descends the stairs quick yet careful, holding onto the rusty handrail. No light seeps in beyond the first two meters. Feeling her way through the dark, she creeps lower and lower.

The temperature drops rapidly. The stairs creak. At the bottom of the path, waves splash against the walls. The sound echoes around her as if she's drowning. Blindly, she reaches out and grabs a jar of milk out of the frigid water. Ice bumps her fingers. It stings against her burns, but she bites her lip and grabs a second jar.

Going up the steps is safer, so she moves a bit faster. The moon, naps, and lullabies, she thinks. Caramel, too. Those are things Kunimi likes.

He has no weaknesses. His scales are impervious to the cold of the ocean and the sting of swords. Truly, they have no hope of fighting him. Reasoning with him is their only option.

The sunlight blinds her at the top steps. Her elbow scrapes against the stone wall. Yelping, she rushes up the last of the stairs. Her legs burn. Yachi can't remember a time when she had to work this hard before.

"Please like milk," she mumbles to herself. "Please let him like milk."

Stepping out into the courtyard, Yachi stops in her tracks.

A tree has been wrenched from the ground, roots and all, and dropped before the bell tower. Flames engulf it. Smoke blackens the air, burning her eyes.

Kunimi stretches out alongside it. Without a care in the world, he breathes more fire onto the trunk, flicking his tail back and forth in pleasure.

"Why?" Yachi doesn't know if she should go closer or run away.

Kunimi rolls over. "I got cold." He wiggles closer to the flames, letting the burning branches scratch along his back.

Invincible, Yachi thinks, and she takes a step back. Kunimi is invincible. There's no other word for a creature immune to the freezing cold of the sea and space, who lounges within a fire like it's nothing more than a sauna.

Smoke billows around her, and she coughs. It makes her mind start moving again. She needs to put the fire out before the whole temple burns down!

What should she do? It would take too long to bring buckets of water, and they're so far from the shore. Not to mention Kunimi has coiled around the tree trunk like a ferocious shish kabob.

She wants to shout that he can't just start fires to keep warm, but the injustice burns worse than the flames. Humans start fires all the time for warmth. That doesn't mean she can just let him burn down whatever he likes, though.

Kunimi lifts his head. "You're bleeding."

"Huh?" Yachi looks down at herself. Sure enough, blood trails down from her elbow. Now that she's seen it, pain seeps in, and her arm throbs. "Ow. I bumped it earlier." She coughs. "I'll go clean it."

Unwrapping himself from the tunck, Kunimi grows, tripling in size in a mere instant. He picks up the flaming tree in his jaws. Swinging his head to the side, he throws it. Water splashes as it lands in the ocean beyond the courtyard.

A headache brews behind her temples. She can't keep up with this.

Before she can think about it more, Kunimi approaches. He looks her up and down, his expression unreadable.

Yachi takes a step back. "Kunimi-kun?"

Without answering, he changes size again, shrinking down until he's nearly the same height as her. "Hold up your hands," he instructs.

"A-are you going to kill me?" Her head spins. She doesn't think she can run anymore. Exhaustion tugs at her mind, weighing down her limbs.

Who is she kidding? She couldn't run from him even in top condition. All she can do...

Setting down the milk jars, she lifts her hands.

...Is trust him.

Kunimi rears back like a snake about to strike. Yachi flinches. Her hands shake, and she struggles not to cover her face.

Scales press against her palms. Kunimi's head rests neatly between her hands. "What's with that expression," he teases.

Yachi sighs so heavily, she feels as if her soul is leaving her body along with her tension. "My life flashed before my eyes."

"Did you see where you lost your missing sock at?"

She nods. "It fell under the bed when—hey!"

Kunimi sticks his tongue out, an amused spark lighting up his eyes.

Yachi puffs out her cheeks. "What would you know about socks?"

"Nothing," Kunimi confirms. "My claws need no artificial protective covering." He snakes forward, coiling around her shoulders.

Yachi strains beneath the weight. She reaches up to keep him from falling, but he wraps around her arm, weighing it down until she can't hold it up. "Heavy," she wheezes.

Kunimi hums, and the sound vibrates through her. Then, the weight lifts. He shrinks down until he's only two meters long, curling neatly around her arm.

His whiskers tickle her hand. Lifting it up, she watches him nestle his head against her palm. "What are you doing, Kunimi-kun?"

"Your skin is warm," he mumbles. "It would be a shame for you to ruin it."

"What—oh." Yachi wiggles her fingers. The burns from earlier are gone. Tilting her arm, she finds her elbow is no longer bleeding. A slight itch replaces the pain and throbbing, and, as she examines it, even that fades away, too. "Wow! It's like it never happened," she says.

Settling down on the ground, she pops open one of the milk jars and pours some into the lid, holding it up for Kunimi to drink. Just moments ago, her back would have ached just thinking of sitting like this, but now she feels nothing, her soreness merely a memory. "Incredible," she says. "I didn't know bakunawa had healing powers."

"Indeed." Kunimi laps the milk. Droplets of it gather on his nose, and he shakes his head.

"Why is that?" she asks.

“You are the first human I have healed," he says, his voice bored as if the words aren't defining a new historical event.

Yachi's eyes widen. "What? But that's—"

"It will be the last time, too," he says sternly.

She never imagined a python sized creature covered in fins would speak to her in a teacher voice before. It leaves her too stunned to respond.

Kunimi's gaze drifts toward the darkening sky. "I will eat the moon tonight," he says. "You cannot delay me any longer."

She strokes along his back, mindful of his spikes. His change in size has rendered them small and rounded. They remind her of the bumps on an alligator like this.

Scritching behind his jaw, she says, "More caramel is on the way."

Kunimi pauses. "I'm interested."

"It will be destroyed if you eat the moon," she reminds him.

Huffing, Kunimi rubs his cheek against her thumb, and she pets that side instead. "How much caramel?" he asks.

Yachi smiles. "All of it."

His face isn't designed to emote human expressions, but he looks decidedly pouty when he says, "The moon can wait until after the caramel... if it doesn't take too long."

For the first time since this all began, her chest feels light with true hope. "It won't," she promises.

Leaning back against the wall, they watch the moon rise together.

* * *

Caring for an entire temple by herself is difficult. She starts with harvesting the spices and watering plants. The irrigation system thankfully cuts the work in half. Still, she can't tell if the carrots are ready or not. Her clothes catch on the rose thorns. By the time she drags herself from the last garden, she's sure she must be sunburnt all over.

Collecting eggs from the chickens would be a lot easier without a snake-like creature coiled around her shoulders, but she gets the job done, only getting pecked by a handful of angry hens. The goats are less forgiving. Bypassing their stable, she makes her way to the bedchambers, airing out mattresses and opening the windows to let in a breeze.

Yachi stares up at the bell tower, contemplating. She doesn't know what time it is. The more she thinks about it, the harder it is to remember when it's supposed to be rung.

"It hurts my ears," Kunimi mumbles.

"Right." She turns away from it. That leaves... a lot still to do. The rice fields haven't been touched in days, but she doesn't know how to harvest or care for rice. She's been cleaning the kitchen as she goes, so that's at least one problem solved, although she hasn't figured out how to wash the cast iron pans yet.

"Let's nap," Kunimi suggests.

"I can't." Her neck is still sore from falling asleep outside last night. She doesn’t even remember falling asleep, only waking up with Kunimi coiled around her like a shiny blanket.

Kunimi looks like he’s already fallen asleep either way. His head is nestled among the coils around her shoulders. She can’t see his muzzle, but his breath tickles her neck. At her waist, his tail curves around itself in a secure loop.

Yachi pets his side. “Okay. Next, the main hall.” She steps inside, relishing in the cool shade. Careful not to jostle Kunimi too much, she moves about the hall, drawing the curtains to let in the sunlight. Stained glass paints the room in reds and blues. At the altar, she empties the washing basin and refills it with fresh holy water.

Mundane tasks filter by one after another. She had never considered before who was responsible for the little nuisances that keep the temple running each day. She and the other girls would wash and dry the laundry, occasionally helping out in the kitchen and gardens. It was a simple life.

Now, it’s her job to fill in the rest. She checks the mail, although the postman has since stopped delivering it. She tends to the bread starters and performs the offering ceremonies. In the worship hall, she leads the prayers without an audience, and by the river she washes what remains of the laundry. No donations arrive anymore, but boxes of caramel appear at the gate. Dutifully, she carries them out to the courtyard for Kunimi to raid when he gets hungry.

"Good work," she says to no one once she sweeps the fallen leaves off the cobblestones.

Kunimi opens one eye. "You look lonely."

"Lonely?" She stares down at the broom, twisting it in her hands. "Maybe. It's quiet now." Offering him a smile, she says, "I'm okay, though, really. My mom has always been a hard worker, so I was alone a lot before coming here."

"Why are you here?" he asks. His tone wavers between polite and curious. The meaning is mixed, too. Why did she come? Or why hasn't she left?

Walking to the shed, she stores the broom away alongside the mops and gardening tools. "I," she says, "wanted to help people." Her mind wandering, she meanders to the back and collects a bucket and sponge.

"My mom used to bring the donations here," Yachi explains. "I helped when I was small, and when I got bigger, I brought them myself. The people here always needed extra help with chores, so I would pitch in before heading back." On auto pilot, she lets her feet lead her to the river, filling up the bucket all the way to the brim. "The more I helped, I started to wonder what would happen if I just lived here full time."

Kunimi makes an acknowledging sound. There's no judgment in it or in his gaze, and it encourages her to keep going. "After that, I never left." The bucket thumps against her knees as she walks. "The girls asked me to evacuate with them, but it didn't feel right. This place is my home now."

The bathhouse is nestled close to the river, making the water easier to heat. Climbing up the stairs one step at a time, Yachi sets the bucket down heavily. "Anyway," she says, "what's your home like Kunimi-kun?"

He snorts. "Don't have one."

"Everyone needs a home," Yachi chides. "Birds have nests, and fish have reefs. We have houses." She gestures around them. "Where do you stay?"

"I have slept within the earth for millennium," he says. "I don't need a house or nest."

"But what about a _home_?"

Silence follows her question. Kunimi stares at her blankly, almost as if he doesn't understand what she's asking. Embarrassment floods her. Cringing at her own naïvety, Yachi covers her face with her hands. "Please forget I said that," she mumbles.

Kunimi nudges her fingers with his muzzle. "A home is a building. Why do you talk about it like it's something more?"

"W-well, it is." She smooths down her hair, hoping her face isn't as red as it feels.

It's strange. Kunimi is almost as old as time itself, but he doesn't understand basic things like love, affection, or having a place where you belong. She's never had to explain those things before. Like the chores that run the temple behind the scenes that she had never noticed in the past, these concepts just _are_ —they exist without explanation or reason or conscious thoughts to guide them.

"A house is a building," she tries. "A home, though, it's, well..." She doesn't know where to begin. "It's a place where you feel... safe."

"Humans," Kunimi sighs.

"Sorry." She scratches her cheek. "I'm not very good at this, am I?"

"You are," he says flatly, stunning her into silence. "Humans are fragile. No wonder you put meanings in places of safety." He rolls his eyes. Prodding her waist with the tip of his tail, he asks, "How do you get anything done without breaking in two?"

Her face burns. "I'm not _that_ weak."

"Soft," Kunimi argues. He pokes her side for emphasis.

"Hey, that—that tickles." She grabs at him.

Slipping past her hands, he slides down onto the floor, coiling himself into a ball. He lifts his head and sticks his tongue out at her.

"You"—she points a finger at him in warning. It makes her giggle. The consumer of moons and destroyer of worlds is a two meter long snake teasing and tickling her. She feels like she's dreaming.

Before her, Kunimi scans the room. Displeasure darkens his gaze, and he climbs onto a nearby stool. "Why does your house have a torture chamber?" he asks.

"Torture?" Yachi looks around wildly, almost expecting to find chains and knives stuffed beneath the towels. "This is a bathhouse."

He huffs out a plume of smoke. "Sounds unnecessary."

Yachi thinks of Hinata and Kageyama, of how they come over after training, drenched in so much sweat they look like they just fell into the river. "They are the most necessary places in the world," she says gravely. Her nose burns just trying to imagine a world without bathhouses.

One way or another, it seems to peak Kunimi's interest. He lifts his head, waiting.

Yachi tenses. She came here to clean the facility, not to bathe. Does Kunimi even know what baths are? Should she leave so he can have privacy? Should he use shampoo on his scales or soap? Head spinning, she sits down heavily beside him. These are questions she doesn't think anyone has answers to. On the one hand, maybe that means the answers aren't important either way, but on the other hand, he could kill her for getting the water temperature incorrect. Yachi's too young to be drowned in the men's bathhouse.

"Warm baths," Kunimi says suddenly. He catches her gaze. "So much for that being worth living for," he grumbles.

"Worth living for," she repeats. Had she said that? She thinks she may have said several things back when Kunimi and Tsukishima faced down, but she'd been such a bundle of nerves that the words gushed out of her without thought. The whole event is nothing but a blur of panic and embarrassment staining her memory.

She looks at Kunimi. He remembered that?

Kunimi makes an expression that might be a frown. "Why are you smiling?"

Yachi covers her mouth. "Sorry! I'll stop," she says, her smile stretching wider.

Even if he pretends he doesn't care about their world, Kunimi is trying. It fills her chest with glowing warmth, and she gets up, using the motivation to pull the lever. Water pours into the tub. She stocked the fire earlier that morning, and the water heats quickly, steaming and bubbling.

Kunimi snakes closer, his eyes glowing. Looking somewhere between tired and excited, he grows larger, reaching nearly the same height as her, and lets his nose dip down into the tub. A pleased hiss vibrates from his throat.

Yachi giggles. "Do you like hot things, Kunimi-kun?"

"No." He slithers impatiently into the tub. Water pools around him, and he sighs, sinking down until only the top of his head is visible. Bubbles drift up around his nose. "Earth is cold," he says. "I despise being hot and being cold equally."

Yachi kneels next to the tub. That explains why he didn't like the bathhouse; the tile floors are cold even to her. "You like warm things, then," she says.

This time when he hums, it rumbles through the building, echoing off the walls. His expression is so happy, she can't find it in herself to tell him they're supposed to wash off at the showers before entering the bath. She'll just have to wash out the tub when he's finished, which she'd been planning to do anyway.

Coiling his body into a neat ball, he rests his head on the side of the tub. "Will you bathe, too?"

"Yes," she says. "I will after I clean in here." The bathhouse itself isn't particularly dirty, but the floors could use a good scrubbing. Distantly, she's glad she washed the towels already; she has no idea how many towels a bakunawa needs to dry off.

Getting up, she retrieves her bucket and gets to work at the showers first. They fill up using the same heating system as the tub, pulling water in from the lake and passing it over the furnace beneath the floor, so she turns them on, letting the warm water pour out over the tile.

Kunimi's gaze follows her as she grabs the sponge and begins to scrub. "That looks tedious."

"Perhaps." Already, the steam makes her hair stick to her face. Her clothes feel uncomfortably damp, and she regrets not changing into her robe before coming here. Soap suds cling to her forearms. "If we don't do tedious things, though," she says, "we won't have any nice things to enjoy." Pushing her bangs out of her face, she says, "Besides, it's feels nice to accomplish a difficult task."

Kunimi sinks down lower in the tub. "Humans."

Yachi smiles patiently. Kunimi has a strange voice, somehow so human and so otherworldly all at once, but there's an undeniable fondness in his tone, like he's a tired parent talking to a child. It's ironic. She almost feels the same way about him.

Water sloshes against the floor. Turning, Yachi watches him change size again. His claws return. The harmless nubs on his back sharpen into deadly spikes.

Yachi takes a step back, raising her sponge in defense.

Sighing contentedly, Kunimi curls himself up, resting his head between the spikes on his back. His eyes close.

"Kunimi-kun?" She worries at the sponge. Water drips down her wrists. "Kunimi-kun, you can't sleep in the bath."

He doesn't move. "Watch me."

"It's not safe," she insists. Dropping her tools, she hurries across the slick floors to him. "You could drown!"

"Water cannot kill me," he reminds her.

The words barely register over the alarm bells ringing in her brain. "What if you slip and hit your head? What if the bathhouse floods? The furnace could explode! Lightning could strike the bathhouse and electrocute you—ah!"

Kunimi pokes her with his tail. "Highstrung," he says.

Yachi rubs her stomach. "Sorry. I don't know how to resuscitate an electrocuted dragon, and it makes me worry." She takes a deep breath to calm down.

"Humans." He snickers. Amusement in his gaze, he curls up tighter, making space for someone else to join in the bath. "There. Get in."

"Get in—" The words strangle into a high pitch squeak. Heat floods her face, stretching to her ears. Turning away, she slaps her hands over her eyes.

Water splashes as Kunimi moves. "Are you dying?"

"Yes! No! Gah!" Grabbing the front of her shirt, she hides her face in it, biting at the fabric to stop herself from saying anything that will make this situation more humiliating.

More water hits the floor. Scales slither along the tile, and then a vicious claw is tenderly cupping her cheek, lifting her face up. "You're being weird," Kunimi says flatly.

Words rise to her mind only to fall apart. She opens her mouth to tell him she's sorry she can't because mixed bathing isn't allowed, but instead she blurts out, "Can't bathing."

Kunimi frowns, perplexed.

"I can't," she tries again, the words coming out as a breathless hiss. "Illegal. I'll be arrested," she mumbles. "They'll take me to court. You'll need a lawyer. Do snakes have legal rights?"

"I'm not a snake," he points out.

Yachi gasps. "Are you above the law?"

"I..." Kunimi pauses. "What?"

"I have to leave." She bolts for the exit, but her feet slip. Throwing her arms in front of her face, she prepares to die.

Nothing happens.

Opening her eyes, she realizes Kunimi hooked one claw into the back of her shirt, keeping her upright. "Honestly," he sighs. Without remorse, he picks her up, dropping her unceremoniously into the tub.

Yachi shrieks. Water splashes everywhere. She tries to cover her face and reach for the side of the tub at the same time, effectively smacking herself in the face with one hand and hitting the other against the edge.

"The tension shot to your head," Kunimi says. "Chill out."

Sinking up to her ears in the water, Yachi barely hears him. This is it. She truly will be drowned in the bathhouse by the weight of her embarrassment.

Scales bump against her, and she jolts upright, gasping for air.

Kunimi watches impassively. "The water is too shallow to drown you," he says. At the other side of the tub, he coils up tightly, giving her plenty of room.

She nods. She doesn't know what else to do. Words have already failed her. Her clothes feel uncomfortable in the hot water, but taking them off in front of him is absolutely out of the question. Based on the way he seems to think a bath will relax her, she doubts she can leave right now either.

Her hair is thoroughly drenched, but she pulls it out of the water by habit, tying it into a messy bun.

Seemingly satisfied, Kunimi lays his head down and closes his eyes.

Yachi closes her eyes, too. In the dark, it's easier to pretend she's all alone. She can imagine Kunimi is outside waiting or, better yet, that they're both at a hot spring, leaning back against a divider that separates humans from eldritch dragon monsters.

Water splashes her. Opening her eyes, she catches a teasing smile on Kunimi's face. "Don't fall asleep," he cheeks.

Yachi laughs. It eases away some of her fears, and her mind quiets down. Leaning back against the edge of the tub, she sinks down to her shoulders and sighs, relaxing. "This is nice," she says, "for an unplanned near murder, that is."

Kunimi hums.

"I'll have to get out to restock the fire, soon," she adds.

Kunimi shifts his head in some kind of reptilian acknowledgment. "I can heat the water."

Remembering how he set the tree on fire the last time he tried to heat something, she says, "Let's maybe not do that."

The water ripples when he hums again. He already looks half asleep, submerged up to his muzzle.

The realization strikes her that this is the first time she's seen him in water this close up. His scales gleam brightly, shimmering from midnight blue to glittering turquoise. Milky white fins fan out until they're so translucent, she can't find where they end, and markings dot along his body like sapphires and opals, following along the black ridge of his spine.

As if sensing her gaze, his eyes opens. "Will you sing?" he asks.

"I don't know." Fiddling with the hem of her shirt, she says, "I don't want you to fall asleep."

Kunimi huffs, exasperated. She expects him to roll his eyes and make another snide remark about humans, but instead he swims closer, coiling around her. The water renders his body nearly weightless, and he snuggles his head on her shoulder, pulling her back to lean against him. "Wake me up if I do," he says.

"Hmm." She pets side. His scales are even smoother like this. Running her fingers along the gradient, she traces lightly over his spikes. The water feels warmer with him near, and she suspects he's using his fire breath despite her warning.

She shakes her head, but Kunimi only shifts so she can lean against him more comfortably. "Okay," she agrees. Basking in the contentment warming her chest, Yachi sings.

* * *

Stones scrape her fingers. Her hands shake. Breathing heavy, Yachi drops the rock onto the ground. "Whew." Sweat dampens her face, and she pushes her bangs out of the way.

Beside her, Kunimi drops a rock ten times larger than hers without struggle.

Yachi puffs out her cheeks. Does he even need her help?

As if to answer her question, he disappears for a moment, reemerging from the trees with an even bigger rock clamped between his jaws. He settles it down at the far end of the bouldered landscape.

Yachi doubles over, hands on her knees. For the first time in her life, she actually wants to go down into the chilly cellar. Straightening up, she arcs her back, stretching her arms above her head until she hears a satisfying pop.

Kunimi lounges across the bed of rocks.

"Is this good?" she asks.

Not answering, he twists onto his side, then his back, wiggling around like a long cat. Seemingly content, he rolls onto his belly and sighs. "This is sufficient."

Yachi bends down to touch the stone. It feels cool against her fingers, but warmth is already beginning to build in it as the sun beats down on them. In a few hours, it will make a perfect sunning spot for Kunimi. She smiles.

Kunimi sits up.

"What's—"

Kunimi breathes fire.

Yachi leaps back. Flames blast across the stone. Lizards scurry away in fear. Someone screams, and as her ears ring, she realizes she is the one screaming.

Unphased, Kunimi curls up on the scorching hot rocks.

"My life flashed before my eyes." Her heart beats wildly beneath her hands. She hadn't realized she was clutching her chest, but now she holds her shirt tighter, afraid her heart will beat right out of her ribcage if she let's go.

Kunimi sticks his tongue out without remorse.

Yachi shakes her head. "Please stop using your fire breath. You're going to get hurt," she chides.

"Fire cannot hurt me," he says. Several rocks jut out unevenly, and he coils around them, a hum rumbling through his throat.

He's right, but that does nothing to quell her anxiety. "Still, be careful. I'm going to go cool off," she says. "Will you be okay by yourself?"

He doesn't reply, but over the past few days, Yachi has come to understand what his silence means. Kunimi is nowhere near the unfeeling, expressionless reptile Tsukishima made him out to be. He likes lullabies and long baths and sunning himself. He doesn't have the patience to wait for things that are out of his control, but he's willing to take all the time in the world doing what he wants.

Pausing, she takes in his relaxed form. He shifts his head, blinking at her slow and purposefully: a promise not to cause her any trouble while she's away.

The trees grant her shade as she makes her way back to the bedchambers. Wildflowers brush against her ankles. Fanning her face, she tilts her head from side to side, cracking her neck. She really needs to stop sleeping out in the courtyard, but watching the moon with Kunimi is undeniably better than leaving Kunimi alone to eat the moon.

It’s also nice having another person around, even if he’s not human. The temple is so quiet, her ears ring. There are no girls sitting around the entryway chatting. Halls that once echoed with laughter are now oppressively silent. A chill settles into the bedroom. Looking around at empty futons, she feels a similar hollow feeling building in her heart.

She changes out of her dirty clothes mechanically. Her hands sting. Moving the rocks left wide scratches all down her forearms. “I can’t wait to take a bath,” she sighs. Her mental list of chores has gotten muddy and torn, but she’s sure she still has some more cleaning and gardening to do.

Perching at the windowsill, a new kind of hopelessness tugs at her head, making her tired and listless. Why hasn’t anyone returned yet? It’s been almost a week since Kunimi arrived. Are they ever coming back, or did they find new homes on a different island, far away from her?

Clouds drift lazily across the sky. Leaning her head against the glass, Yachi tries to keep her mind quiet. The silence only encourages her brain to race with unwanted thoughts. Can she really get Kunimi to change his mind about the moon? How long is he going to humor her mundane way of life? When she fails, will their island be the only thing destroyed, or will the entire earth be plunged into the sea, drowning everyone on it?

How long can she keep going like this?

Will it matter in the end?

Softer yet, another doubt speaks up. If she succeeds, then what? Somehow, that one is scarier than all the others.

She’s tempted to follow Kunimi’s lead and nap the afternoon away—nap her fears and worries away—when something catches her attention. Noise. Yachi presses her ear to the window. There’s noise. It sounds almost like pots and pans being beaten together. And footsteps.

Yachi bolts upright. Footsteps! People are here.

Racing outside, she runs up the path to the front gates. “Please just be a lost parade,” she pants. “Please be a lost parade.”

Shouting assaults the air. As she reaches the top of the hill, the blur of a large crowd comes into view.

A chill creeps down her back. Torches flicker. In their hands, she makes out the shine of swords and knives.

Someone spots her, and the mob moves faster, coming straight for her. Yachi pales. What should she do?

“Kill the bakunawa!”

“We know you’re hiding it!”

“Grab the girl!”

Yachi runs. She needs to tell Tsukishima. He’ll be able to call them off. She has to reach him so he can save Kunimi—

She stops suddenly, her feet slipping. Her knees scrap the road. _Save Kunimi_.

No. She clamps her hands over her ears, but Tsukishima’s words are already in her memory, in her head: _Our only choice… is to kill it_.

 _Then we will kill Kunimi Akira_. Hinata’s voice joins his, and she holds her head tighter. In her mind, she can see Kageyama stabbing him with the sword. She remembers how Yamaguchi and Hinata had raised their own weapons without hesitation, waiting for a moment to strike.

The mob nears. Stumbling to her feet, Yachi runs to block the gate. “Please stop,” she yells. “The bakunawa isn’t here.”

“Liar!” So many people are shouting, the word wraps around her, carrying among their ranks like a chant.

“We saw it,” someone shouts.

“It was burning down the forest.”

Her heart pounds. They saw Kunimi when they were gathering the rocks for him to sun on. She thinks she may be sick.

“Please,” she tries again. “You have the wrong idea. He isn’t hurting anyone,”

“It sunk the other islands!”

A rock hits her. Yachi reels back, clutching her face. Her hands come away red.

“It killed six moon princes,” someone else roars.

They’re all shouting at once now, drowning out each other’s words until it’s all one indecipherable cacophony of outrage.

Another rock hits her, scraping her shoulder, and she yelps. “Please.” She holds her arms up in front of her face. “Please, if we could just talk—ah!”

Rough hands grab her. People pull at her from both sides. She struggles against them. A knee rams into her stomach. Doubling over, she gasps for breath.

Someone smacks her. Yachi hits the ground. Stones cut her hands. She tries to crawl away, but a boot rams into her side, knocking her down. A sword arcs toward her.

Life blurs. One second, she’s on the ground, and then the next, she’s upright, wrapped in warmth. Orange and red block everything from sight. Fire. Yachi blinks. There’s a fire!

Kunimi hisses. He slashes at the mob with his claws. His tail is coiled around her, separating her from the fight.

“Kunimi-kun.” He’s here. But why… Tears and blood blur her vision, but when she rubs her eyes, he’s still there. “Kunimi-kun, wait,” she shouts. “Don’t hurt them!”

Kunimi stares at her like she’s lost her mind. Blood slathers his muzzle.

Stomach heaving, Yachi turns away. “Please stop,” she begs.

**“What do you want me to do? Knit them sweaters?” His tail tightens around her. Lifting her up, he sweeps her against his side, using his body as a barrier between her and the mob. “Humans,” he grumbles. “Pathetic, weak creatures.”**

Yachi presses her hands against his side. “I’m sorry, but please, if you…”

Blood. Dizziness washes over her, and she slumps down. Blood soaks her hands. She feels small. Kunimi has grown to nearly the size of a house, but she feels like she’s looking up at a tower, higher and higher, dread filling her stomach with each passing second.

Blood soaks Kunimi’s side. Swords stick out of his skin. Around her feet, scales glitter, stained with crimson.

A sound bubbles past her lips—whether a sob or a scream or a whimper, she doesn’t know. Kunimi is hurt. The mob continues to attack him, battering him with knives and swords, yet he stands perfectly still, his body coiled around her like a living shield.

Tears stream down her face. “Kunimi-kun, run,” she wails.

Kunimi spares her a bleak look. “That is the second worst idea you’ve had today,” he says.

“I don’t understand. Why?” She hiccups. “I-I thought you were invincible. You have to get out of here!” She pushes at his tail.

He doesn’t budge. "I hate running," he mutters.

A sword slashes his leg, and he collapses. The fall jostles her. Scales slice into Yachi's side, and she screams.

Kunimi winces. Tenderly, he nudges her closer. "You will be okay," he promises. His breath ruffles her hair. Leaning down, he rests his head on top of hers, and her injuries immediately fade.

Sniffling, she reaches up, cupping her hands on either side of his muzzle. "Run away," she pleads. "If you fly, they won't reach you."

"You're supposed to want me dead," he cheeks.

She is. He's right; his death would solve all of their problems. This may be their only chance, but Yachi climbs over his tail, stretching up to hug him. He's too big for her to wrap her arms around. Sniffling, she presses her head against him.

"I don't want you dead. Please live. Pl—" Her voice cracks, fresh tears rolling down her face. "Just because you did bad things doesn't mean you have to die for it."

"Be patient. I'm not dying," he says. Flicking his tail, he bats angry villagers away, knocking their weapons aside. Despite this, his blood saturates the ground like rainfall. His eyes cloud. His head slumps against the path.

"Kunimi-kun," she cries.

He meets her gaze. "Wait."

She's crying too hard to speak. She doesn't know what she would say if she could, either. They have no time to wait. He's dying. "Stop." The word quavers into a whimper.

People hack at his exposed back. His scales crack and sever. There's so much blood, she can hardly tell he was once midnight blue. "Stop."

Armed with a switch, a man slams it into Kunimi's head. Beside him, a woman tries without success to set Kunimi on fire. Another person carves apart one of his fins.

Yachi covers her mouth with her hands, feeling cold and sick. "Stop it," she screams.

Trumpets blare.

A flash of gold and orange hops on top of the gate. "By the order of Prince Tsukishima Kei," Hinata commands, "you will cease and desist." Tsukishima's robe hangs off his shoulders, blowing in the breeze. One hand holds the gate post for balance, and with the other, he hoists the royal scepter high.

Behind him, a squadron of Tsukishima's guards stands at the ready.

Relief washes over her. Among their ranks, Yachi finds Asahi, Ennoshita, and Tanaka. Daichi leads the troop at the forefront, sword raised.

Yamaguchi separates from the guards. "We'll handle it from here," he says.

The mob shouts over him, but Daichi steps forward. A hush immediately falls over them. "Go home," he says, voice booming. "We are authorized to detain all who resist."

Someone starts to speak. Yamaguchi cuts them off with, "This is a temple. You've defiled holy ground."

Calm yet unyielding, Daichi's men begin to escort the members of the mob off the premises.

Yamaguchi and Hinata exchange a look.

Yachi throws herself between them and Kunimi. Her legs shake. A migraine pulses behind her temples, and her throat burns. She's never wanted to lay down more in her life than now, but she holds out her arms like a shield. "Don't hurt him."

"We won't," Yamaguchi promises. Gently, he pets the top of Kunimi's head.

Hinata pokes Kunimi with the scepter. "What happened to 'em? When Kageyama hit him, his sword broke."

"I don't know." Yachi sinks to the ground. She covers her face with her hands. "I don't get it. Why didn't he run?"

A comforting hand lands on her shoulder. Looking up, she finds Daichi offering her a small, sad smile. "Dragons have too much pride to run."

"I hate running," Kunimi mumbles.

Yachi jumps. Staggering to her feet, she comes around to face him. "Are you okay? I thought—" She cuts herself off, afraid to voice her fears.

Kunimi snorts. "If a weak human could beat me, then I deserve to be killed."

"Don't say that," she snaps.

Each breath labors from his chest with a wet rattle. She's too afraid to look at the worst of the damage. He looks far too close to death's doorstep to be making such jokes.

**Hinata wraps an arm around her. "It's okay, Yachi-san. Look."**

She doesn't want to, but shimmering light catches her eye. As she watches, Kunimi's scales glow. The weapons fall away from his body. Skin stitches itself back together, and new scales take form, filling in the gaps until his entire body is glowing with midnight blue.

Yachi gasps.

"He... can heal," Yamaguchi murmurs.

Yachi looks at Hinata. "How did you know to come for us?"

"It's hard _not_ to notice an angry crowd with torches and pitchforks." Shaking his head, he takes off Tsukishima's robe and rolls it up. "Geh. This thing’s too long."

Most of the guards have left along with the villagers. Only a small number of them remain, forming a ring around the gate to keep away trespassers.

Yamaguchi chews on his thumb nail. "Their weapons hurt him, but Kageyama's sword didn't."

Numbly, Yachi nods. Her entire body feels exhausted, as if she hasn't slept in weeks. She doesn't know if she should hug Kunimi or throw something at him for worrying her unnecessarily like that. Her emotions are scattered and frayed, and looking at him only tears them up worse.

Kunimi isn't moving. His injuries are completely gone, but his breathing is still labored.

"I think," Yamaguchi musses, "I've heard of this before. There was a creature, wasn't there? They said they couldn't be kill except under specific circumstances."

She nods again. "Not inside or outside, not day or night, not with a weapon lawfully made." She sighs. "This isn't as elaborate as that."

Hinata meets her gaze. "Does it have to be?"

"I'm not sure." Carefully, Yamaguchi kneels beside Kunimi. "He's the only one of his kind, and he's existed longer than any of us. Ancient creatures like this are bound by rules we've never heard of."

"Ancient," Kunimi huffs.

"Sorry!" Yamaguchi scrambles away from him.

Stepping forward, Yachi strokes Kunimi's side. "Is it true?"

"Yeah." He rolls over for her to pet his belly.

Yachi doesn't move.

Kunimi waits. A moment passes. Annoyed, Kunimi gives in and says, "I cannot be killed by any man, woman, or child, nor can I be killed in any place, with fire, with water, or air."

Hinata gestures around them. "This _is_ a place, though."

Petting Kunimi's stomach, Yachi tries to make sense of it. Someone who can't be killed in any place should be invincible, shouldn't they?

"Uh..." Yamaguchi stares at the ground.

Yachi looks down, too. Vibrant grass gives way to a wide, cobblestone path. A sinking feeling settling in her stomach, pushing against her lungs. "A pathway..."

Hinata scratches his head. "I'm lost."

"Pathways are liminal spaces," she says. "They take you to your destination, to a place, which means..."

"They aren't technically places," Yamaguchi concludes.

Her mind buzzes. Kunimi can be killed on any pathway. As for by who... A mob isn't a man or woman; it's a group. All it would take to kill him is two people striking him on a path or trail or even a threshold.

"I'm going to be sick," she mutters into her hands.

Yamaguchi tenses. "Medicine—we need stomach medicine."

Kunimi thumps him with his tail. "Don't be so literal." He tries to sit up, but his body trembles. With an annoyed huff, he begins to shrink, smaller and smaller, until he's light enough for Yachi to scoop into her arms.

She holds still while he gets comfortable. His tail coils around her waist to keep himself steady, and he rests his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes. "What are you doing?" she asks.

"I'm dead," Kunimi says, very not-dead.

Hinata inches behind Yamaguchi. "An undead bakunawa?"

"I think he's joking," Yamaguchi says, but his voice wavers.

Kunimi looks at them with an expression that can only mean disdain. "Tell your people I have been slain." Curling tighter around Yachi's neck, he says, "If they believe I died, they won't come back to bug her."

She really might be sick now. Hands shaking, she cluthes them over her mouth. The realization is painful. It doesn't feel like puzzle pieces uniting together or like the sun coming out behind the clouds. It's like a jolt of lightning, scrambling her senses and knocking her off her feet.

Kunimi let this happen. He chose not to step off the path—to let an angry mob of people ruthlessly attack him—because it was the easiest way to fake his own death.

He did it for her.

"Yachi-san." Yamaguchi shakes her. "Yachi-san, breathe. You look like you're going to pass out."

Yachi takes deep, even breaths. She can't faint now! She has to make this up to Kunimi.

Looking down, she finds him already fast asleep, and she smiles weakly. "He seems to be doing better now," she says.

Hinata nods. "Guess he just needed rest."

"Yeah." Yachi pets his back. "I think he deserves a nice, long nap."

"We'll leave it to you," Yamaguchi says.

"If anyone can save the moon without killing the bakunawa," Hinata chimes in, "it's you, Yachi-san."

Her smile falters. "But... what happens when he gets bored?"

"Then we'll be here to help you." Hinata pats her head.

"We trust you," Yamaguchi says.

"Thank you." Taking each of their hands in her own, she squeezes them as reassuringly as she can, hoping some of that solace will stick with her as well. "I won't let you down!"

* * *

Warm. Yachi squeezes her eyes shut tighter, but it's too warm. Blindly, she pushes the blanket away. Curled up on her side, she waits for cool air.

Nothing happens. She isn't cooling off. Shifting, she finds it hard to move, and she cracks her eyes open.

Darkness cloaks the room. It's almost startling after so many night spent sleeping outside beneath the moonlight. She tries to relish in the softness of a real bed, but the mattress is stiff in several spots, firm and almost lumpy.

There's something heavy on her, too, like a weighted blanket. Reaching up, she runs her fingers over it, trying to make out what it is.

It tightens around her. "Stop squirming."

"Kunimi-kun?" Yachi squints at him. "What are you doing?"

"Sleeping," he grumbles.

"Huh?" She drags her hand over her face. "No, I mean..." Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looks at the empty bed next to hers. She's sure she left Kunimi over there. "Why are you in my bed?"

Kunimi shifts, coiling closer around her. "You're warm. Now let me sleep."

Yachi blinks dumbly at the wall. Her senses slowly come back to her. Now that she's aware of him, she can feel his body wrapped around her, but it's different from how she normally carries him. He's bigger. Like this, he takes up nearly all of the bed, wrapping around her from her head to her feet.

Careful of him, she props herself up as best as she can on her elbow. Kunimi's somehow worked his way around her waist, slipping up between her arms and beneath her head like a dragon body pillow. One of her legs is thrown over him, and he's coiled around the other so completely she can barely feel it.

Annoyed, Kunimi pulls her to lie down again. His eyes shine brilliantly despite the low light, and she realizes his face is right in front of hers. "Pillows don't move," he says.

"Pillows?" Yachi frowns. Then embarrassment hits her, and she tries to push him away. "Hey! I'm not your pillow."

Ignoring her, he twists around to rest his head on her shoulder. "You've been my pillow for several days." He wraps his fins around her like a blanket. "Now be quiet; pillows don't talk either."

"Well—but that's... I... Geh." She pouts, unable to argue. It's true she woke up every day in the courtyard to find Kunimi coiled around her like the strangest futon of all time, protecting her body from the worst of the stones, but this is different. He has his own bed right there.

"Shoo," she says finally. "There's a pillow on the other bed."

Kunimi doesnt budge.

Yachi isn't surprised. With a sigh, she shifts again, and Kunimi shifts with her, adjusting so his coils wrap around her more comfortably. Mumbling her gratitude, she nuzzles into turquoise scales.

A minute passes.

Yachi stares at her eyelids, unable to sleep. "You're too warm," she complains.

"It's this," he says, "or I set the other bed on fire to heat it up."

She puffs out her cheeks. "Fine."

Kunimi hums, and the sound vibrates through her. Yachi giggles. "You're like an overgrown kitten, Kunimi-kun."

She can't see his expression, but his humming gets louder, so he must be pleased.

Fingers tingling, she pets his side. "Kunimi-kun?"

"I am sleeping," he says.

"Sorry."

He huffs. "What is it?"

"I..." Eyes fluttering closed, she draws abstract patterns along his scales. He's large enough that his spikes have returned, and she traces her fingers along them, feeling the way scales seamlessly transition to sharpened ivory.

She holds him tight. "Are you going to leave?" she whispers.

Silence follows her question. It feels too charged for him to have merely fallen back asleep.

Exhaustion tugs at her own mind. Dreams ebb at the edge of her consciousness. She doesn't notice Kunimi raise his head until his jaws open, and he blows not fire but a crisp, soothing wind, cooling her off instantly.

"Don't ask questions at naptime," he lectures.

Yachi smiles. "This is bedtime, not naptime."

"All times are naptime," he says. Settling his head back on her shoulder, he murmurs, "I will sleep until time restarts, and seven new moons rise from the depths."

She opens her eyes. "How do you know that will happen?"

"I don't." His voice sounds far away. Glancing back at him, she finds him staring out of the window at the moon. "There were no moons when I was last awake," he says. "So I will believe there will be more moons after my next hibernation. That is the cycle of life."

"Amazing." Yachi can't imagine living such a long life—to fall asleep and wake up centuries later to find the world has changed so much. "Will you tell me what the world was like back then?"

"Not during naptime." He shifts again, pressing his muzzle against the crook of her neck.

His breath tickles, and she struggles not to laugh. "Hey! Stop that."

A smile enters his voice when he says, "Is this better?" He snuggles beneath her chin, his breath tickling her until she giggles.

Shifting his body so that he lifts her head up, he presses his muzzle to her forehead.

Yachi blinks. "Kunimi-kun?"

"You don't destroy the things you love," he murmurs. "You protect them."

She gasps.

"I will eat the moon," he vows "That is how I will protect it. Protecting a human," he grumbles, "is more bothersome." His coils tighten around her. He shifts her onto her back, rising up to look down on her. "Eating you would make life easier."

She struggles to move, but her arms are trapped at her sides. Panic floods her. "Kunimi-kun, you don't have to eat people," she says. Her heart pounds. Desperately, she tries to believe in him, to believe he won't kill her after all this time.

"I want to." He's still small enough that he doesn't have his claws, so he brings up the tip of his tail, touching it lightly to her throat. "It's the only way to keep your voice with me forever, so I can think of your singing and sleep easy."

Too afraid to speak, she can only watch as his tongue darts out, licking along his teeth like a hungry predator. It's terrifying. Killing comes as naturally for him as breathing, yet a strange sense of peace comes over her, even as adrenaline fills her veins, making her squirm.

"When I eat the moon, you believe you will die," he says.

Yachi nods. "We can't live without it." She swallows hard. "The island will sink, and we'll all drown."

"Then I should eat you first."

She holds his gaze, unblinking. He speaks so casually, as if he's planning to drink a large quantity of milk before it spoils in the sun, but it's her life on the line. This is the first time she's truly had to gambling with him on this. Back when he first said he would eat her and Kageyama, he had sounded sure and confident, but he hadn't expressed any imment desire to carry out his threat.

Looking up at him now, Yachi doesn't think he looks confident anymore. A question burns in his gaze, and his expression twists into uncertainty.

Wiggling, Yachi manages to pull her hand free, and she stretches up to pet his muzzle. "Are you going to?" she asks.

Kunimi lays his head on her chest. "No."

She scritches beneath his jaw. "Thank you." Letting her fingers crest up his cheek, she pets between his horns, and he presses against her hand. "You really are like a cat," she says with a smile.

Closing her eyes, she thinks she could fall back asleep like this. The earlier flash of panic has subsided, and in its place, a calm exhaustion settles, clearing her head. Kunimi's weight creates a comfortable pressure on her body. It feels safe. The thought makes her want to laugh. The man eating eldritch monster makes her feel safe.

Kunimi nuzzles against her hand. "What's with the face?"

"I'm not making a face," she says.

He snorts. "Liar."

She opens her eyes. "Kunimi-kun?"

"Pillows don't ask questions," he reminds her.

"Sorry."

He sighs. "What now?"

Yachi chews her lip. "Why did you... change your mind?"

Annoyance flares in his gaze, and he looks away. "I didn't," he says stubbornly. "I will eat the moon. I'll eat you, too." Quieter, he says, "When I'm ready."

She hums. For a creature with knowledge and abilities beyond human comprehension, he's surprisingly easy to read. Not wanting to call him out on it, she instead asks, "After naptime?"

"Yes." Shifting her so that she's on her side again, Kunimi buries his face against her neck, and she giggles at the tickling sensation. "I will eat the moon after that," he promises.

Yachi strokes his back. Naptime has no ending, and he'll kill her after naptime. A smile lights up her face. Something warm sparks in her chest, brighter than hope. Joy. "Thank you," she whispers, hugging him.

He hums contentedly. "I want to take a bath tomorrow."

"Yes," she laughs. "I'll bring you lots of caramel, too."

Letting her eyes close, she sings an old lullaby for him, her worries easing. Despite being the only human living in the temple, it doesn't feel lonely anymore. She has Kunimi and Hinata, Yamaguchi, and Kageyama and all of the other people who matter.

Tomorrow, she'll find new recipes to make for Kunimi and the others, and she can ask Tsukishima for help keeping the furnace stocked so they never have a shortage of hot bath water. If she leaves the window open at night for the breeze to come through, then she doesn't think she minds snuggling with Kunimi every night like this. They can even drag one of the beds outside to sleep beneath the moon and stars.

After all, these are the things worth living for—the things that can't be eaten—and they have all the time in the world to enjoy them together.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading!
> 
> For those who skipped the violent scene:
> 
> Kunimi saves Yachi from the mob, but the mob attacks him instead. Yachi begs him to run away and save himself. Unwilling to do so, Kunimi complains that running is too much work and makes dry jokes, insisting that Yachi need only be patient. As the situation seems to grow dire, Hinata appears with Tsukishima's army, thus ending the violence.


End file.
